/ mɜːdʒ; NAmE mɜːrdʒ/ verb
1.
merge (with / into) sth | merge A with B | merge A and B (together) to combine or make two or more things combine to form a single thing :
[ v ]
The banks are set to merge next year.
His department will merge with mine.
The villages expanded and merged into one large town.
Fact and fiction merge together in his latest thriller.
The two groups have merged to form a new party.
[ vn ]
His department will be merged with mine.
The company was formed by merging three smaller firms.
2.
[ v ] if two things merge , or if one thing merges into another, the differences between them gradually disappear so that it is impossible to separate them :
The hills merged into the dark sky behind them.
•
IDIOMS
- merge into the background
••
WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent. (in the sense immerse oneself ): from Latin mergere to dip, plunge; the legal sense is from Anglo-Norman French merger .